Advice on how to fix where I am hitting.

[blakees307]

So this might be confusing and kinda long. I have a christen arms 300 win and put a Leupold vx-5 on it last summer and had a gunsmith mount it and zero it.. At 100 yards on a bench I am grouping very tight and on the bullseye. When hunting last year I dialed up to 600 to shoot at an elk and felt very confident in the shot and executed the best I could. I hit about 3 feet to the right and 3 feet high. When looking the gun this year I felt the scope was not perfectly level and slightly canted to the right. So I remounted the scope and got it as perfectly level as I could and re sighted it in. Again having tight groups at 100. When hunting I took a practice shot at 600 and again hit high and to the right but this time only about a foot both directions. I wasn't too worried since it was better then last year. Well come time to shoot an elk I Dailed to 300 and executed the best I could . I hit the bull in the spine and pretty far back. I felt like I executed the shot really good too. I am wondering if there is something I am doing wrong on my shooting to keep hitting high and to the right or if my scope again is off and if it being canted to the right would result in hitting to the right when I dial the scope up. I hope that wasn't too confusing I am just trying to figure out what I need to fix or work on. Thanks

 

[Kotaman]

Ok...this is gonna hurt. You have no business shooting those ranges until you are 100% confident in your practice at those ranges. Just because you had a dial made for those ranges does not mean you’re “good to go”. The only way to “fix” it is to practice. And by practice, I mean hundreds of shots at distance. Sorry, but there is no “quick” fix for shooting Long Range.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Kotaman speaks the cold hard truth.

 

[Buffinnut]

Yeah if you didn't practice successfully dialing at 300 and shooting from field positions repeatedly you should NOT be shooting at an animal at that range period.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

What did it do when practicing at 300&600?

 

[Breaksbulls]

Like was said above. Zero at 100 as this is the best way to make a custom turret or drop sheet with a program, 200 yard zeros can be tough to make an accurate drop chart off of a program. One MUST run all the way out to desired distance and verify, as chrono's can be off. What I do is get an idea of what I will be running for drops and then verify in 200 yard increments with multiple sessions out to 1200, then make an accurate drop chart and reverify and then load it on my sig 2400 or make a final chart/custom dial. This is for my gun! Also if going past 700, temperature, elevation, spin drift, and coriolis can and does have its effects. Temp day to day can make a big difference if using a not so stable powder...... just a pile of things to consider. With being off a foot right at 500 you are just over 2 minutes right of 100 yard zero (2"). I would get a verified 200 to 300 yard left/right impact as bullets will be fully stabilized and I would bet you are still good at 100. I typically sit about 3/4 left at 100, still a wiggle left at 500 and only 4 to 5 inches right a 1000 yard (spin drift is more or less out of the equation then). A level is a good thing to have mounted on scope as well as to make sure crosshairs are perfectly up and down. Just so many small things can magnify at distance, practice. practice, practice. One other thing I will say is a high quality trigger at like 1 1/2 to 2# can also help tighten things up, especially when the heat is on.

 

[Rob5589]

You have to practice at distances you plan to shoot. You shoot well at 100. Stick to that until you verify beyond.

 

[MeatBuck]

Are you shooting from the same position?
Using a bipod?
Those things can effect the shot as well.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Another thing to consider is the scope isn’t working correctly. If you are dialing up and it’s going way high maybe your scope isn’t properly.

you could do a square test at 100, where you know you shoot well. Shoot one bullseye, then dial the scope up several inches or more (stay on target) and shoot and see what you get. It should be reliable for the dial. Then dial some left or right, shoot, etc....make sure the scope is tracking properly.

But 3 feet high and right at 600 yards is enormous, but I wouldn’t even be comfortable shooting the one foot high and right at an animal. That’s unacceptable.
Something is not right for sure.
does your scope have hashes where you could hold instead of dial?

 

[blakees307]

Another thing to consider is the scope isn’t working correctly. If you are dialing up and it’s going way high maybe your scope isn’t properly.

you could do a square test at 100, where you know you shoot well. Shoot one bullseye, then dial the scope up several inches or more (stay on target) and shoot and see what you get. It should be reliable for the dial. Then dial some left or right, shoot, etc....make sure the scope is tracking properly.

But 3 feet high and right at 600 yards is enormous, but I wouldn’t even be comfortable shooting the one foot high and right at an animal. That’s unacceptable.
Something is not right for sure.
does your scope have hashes where you could hold instead of dial

Thats a good idea. I haven't thought of that before. It does not have hashes. It is just a duplex reticle. But yes I agree that its unacceptable to be shooting at an animal with that issue and am just wanting to get it figured out. I figure it might be the dial scope since it is consistently going one general area. I appreciate the advice.

 

[WCB]

First make sure your scope is perfectly level on your gun. "good enough" is not good enough for dialing and shooting.

Then similar to above but keep it simple. get a tall target. place a dot on the lower portion of the target, draw with a level a vertical line or hang a plumb line through the dot and shoot that dot at 100 yards. Then dial your 300 input and shoot at the dot...then dial your 400 input shoot at the dot and so on... room dependent on your target. If you see the groups fading one way either the scope isn't level, the scope is tracking bad, or the reticle isn't level in the scope.

Beyond that when you do get it figured out you have to shoot A LOT at any distance you plan on taking an animal at and you should do it in multiple conditions (wind, low light, cold, warm, etc.) One of the worst things to happen to shooting have been these insta dials that give guys a false sense of their skill. Shooting dimes at 100 can be a lot different than shooting pie plates at 400 for a lot of guys.

 

[lak2004]

Do you practice past 100? Any particular reason for a 100 yard zero?

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[MeatBuck]

300 yd zero is pretty common out west.
Most hunting calibers will be about 3” high at 100 with a 300yd zero. And about 4” high at 200.
Makes it real easy to shoot anything from zero to 400 without dialing.

 

[MeatBuck]

Here ya go.

 

[SaltySailor]

So this might be confusing and kinda long. I have a christen arms 300 win and put a Leupold vx-5 on it last summer and had a gunsmith mount it and zero it.. At 100 yards on a bench I am grouping very tight and on the bullseye. When hunting last year I dialed up to 600 to shoot at an elk and felt very confident in the shot and executed the best I could. I hit about 3 feet to the right and 3 feet high. When looking the gun this year I felt the scope was not perfectly level and slightly canted to the right. So I remounted the scope and got it as perfectly level as I could and re sighted it in. Again having tight groups at 100. When hunting I took a practice shot at 600 and again hit high and to the right but this time only about a foot both directions. I wasn't too worried since it was better then last year. Well come time to shoot an elk I Dailed to 300 and executed the best I could . I hit the bull in the spine and pretty far back. I felt like I executed the shot really good too. I am wondering if there is something I am doing wrong on my shooting to keep hitting high and to the right or if my scope again is off and if it being canted to the right would result in hitting to the right when I dial the scope up. I hope that wasn't too confusing I am just trying to figure out what I need to fix or work on. Thanks

On your VX-5, is this a CDS dial that you turned in with your ballistic data? If so, this could explain your elevation issues if you gave them bad data, but the pulling to the right is hard to blame on a elevation turret. Not saying it still can't be your scope. If you can create a group at 300 yards that is off high and right, maybe have someone else who is a known good shot shoot your rifle as well at that distance, if both of you are high and right but dead on at 100yds you can eliminate the 'human factor' at least. We don't know you, for all we know 'buck fever' could be your issue.

 

[Stefan]

What was the angle, if any you were shooting at? This effects point of aim vs point of impact.

If you have a BDC turret, I would strongly think about junking it and going with a regular turret and working up your shooting dope out to 600 or 700 yards. Nothing validates your shooting dope like shooting those ranges. Put it on a "write in the rain" sheet, and laminate it and attach it to your stock or your wrist for quick reference.

If you don't have a BDC turret you probably need to check the tracking of your optic. Try using the box method.
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/optics/why-its-crucial-to-test-the-tracking-of-your-riflescope

 

[Low_Sky]

Thats a good idea. I haven't thought of that before. It does not have hashes. It is just a duplex reticle. But yes I agree that its unacceptable to be shooting at an animal with that issue and am just wanting to get it figured out. I figure it might be the dial scope since it is consistently going one general area. I appreciate the advice.

You're trying to draw conclusions about a perceived problem with your rifle based on two misses, approximately a year apart. This isn't "consistently going one general area". If you think there is an issue with your rifle, you need to put in the range time to figure it out or at least get good data for others to help you figure it out. If it hits well at 100 yards, start from there and shoot further in 100 yard increments until a pattern emerges.
There's room for lots of factors to negatively impact accuracy at longer ranges, both hardware and software.
And as others have stated, stop shooting at animals at longer ranges than you can consistently make good hits in practice. Just because your equipment in capable (and yours may not be), doesn't mean you are.

 

[Wrench]

Tall target to verify mechanics.

Shoot to well beyond your planned range to verify velocity.

Maintain good rifle fundamentals.

Keep your shit screwed together when it's time to rip on the trigger.

Pick up your dead animal.

A light 300mag is going to have some recoil induced error if your form isn't dead on.

 

[wind gypsy]

Do you practice past 100? Any particular reason for a 100 yard zero?

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Not that the OP understands why but a 100 yard zero is ideal regardless of how far you are shooting if you are dialing corrections.

 

[lyle_destroys]

You need to do some practice before you are shooting at animals farther than 100 yards obviously. Have you ever shot that rifle at 600 before? How often do you even shoot? Don't shoot at game past what you are comfortable with.